Thousands of literatures have described the diverse role of ginseng in physiological processes such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In particular, ginseng has been extensively reported to maintain homeostasis of the immune system and to enhance resistance to illness or microbial attacks through the regulation of immune system. Immune system comprise...

BACKGROUND Previous data indicate that purified components of ginseng can inhibit HIV reverse transcriptase in vitro, suggesting that ginseng components in plasma may interfere with HIV-1 RNA detection assays. METHODS Pre- and post-dose plasma from three volunteers dosed with 3000 mg American ginseng was spiked with HIV and analyzed by the Roche COBAS Ampliprep/Taqman v2.0 HIV-1 RNA assay. ...

The purpose of this study was to determine a standard quality characteristic through the evaluation and statistical analysis of the morphological characteristics of dried ginseng (white ginseng) products. Samples of 4-year-old 30 and 50 piece grade curved ginseng and 5-year-old 25 and 15 piece grade straight ginseng products were collected from a market, with 5 to 10 packs of each product being...

Ginseng has a long history of use for health enhancement, and there is some evidence from animal studies that it has a beneficial effect on cognitive performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Korean red ginseng on cognitive performance in humans. A total of 15 healthy young males with no psychiatric or cognitive problems were selected based on an interview with a b...

BACKGROUND There is a lack of basic knowledge on the part of both clinicians and patients as to the indications for use and the safety of herbs used by women during pregnancy and lactation. This is one article in a series that systematically reviews the evidence for herbs commonly used during pregnancy and lactation. OBJECTIVES To systematically review the literature for evidence on the use, ...

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the preventive effect of Korean White Ginseng and Red Ginseng on oxidative stress in H2O2-treated HepG2 cells. The roots of ginseng were extracted with 70% methanol and partitioned with butanol to obtain saponin fractions, which have been known as bioactive constituents of ginseng. 2',7'-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCF-DA) assay and malondia...

Ginsenoside is the most important secondary metabolite of ginseng. Natural sources of wild ginseng have been overexploited. Although root culture could reduce the length of the growth cycle of ginseng, the number of ginsenosides is fewer and their contents are lower in adventitious roots of ginseng than that in ginseng cultivated in the field. In this study, we investigated the effects of endop...

Ginseng has been used as a general tonic agent to invigorate the human body as an adaptogenic agent. In a previous report, we have shown that ginseng contains a novel glycolipoprotein called gintonin. The main function of gintonin is to transiently enhance intracellular free Ca(2+) [Ca(2+)]i levels in animal cells. The previous method for gintonin isolation included multiple steps using organic...

Although a number of animal experiments and clinical trials have investigated the effects of ginseng roots on diabetes, the relationship between their therapeutic effects on diabetes and the quality and the growth age of this herb have not yet been reported. This study systematically investigated the effects of 3- to 6-year-old ginseng roots on glycemic and plasma lipid control in a rat model o...

BACKGROUND This study was performed to investigate whether ginseng has a protective effect in an experimental mouse model of cyclosporine-induced pancreatic injury. METHODS Mice were treated with cyclosporine (30 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously) and Korean red ginseng extract (0.2 or 0.4 g/kg/day, oral gavage) for 4 weeks while on a 0.01% salt diet. The effect of ginseng on cyclosporine-induced pan...